Apparatus for forming and filling packages



Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGESOriginal Filed Sept. 21, 1956 8 Sheets-5119a; 1

INVENTOR Clafience W V055 M1 rToRNE Y5 C. W. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMINGAND FILLING PACKAGES Oct. 3, 1961 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept.21, 1956 INVENTOR mm mm &

a ZOCHFW Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLINGPACKAGES 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Sept. 21, 1956 Rfi o mV T 0 ii\u A QQ w m w m M w M N% C L w f A m QR I v n o o M 6 $1 NQ m w k\ E2052b & mg m wfi mm @x a. ,g WWW A E 3 a fi N3 @m m% @m \ww MTlL-I Q H20.25 QM Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLINGPACKAGES Original Filed Sept. 21, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 H Z OCZFWINVENTOR (Ya/ ance W V0 Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. voe'r APPARATUS FOR FORMINGAND FILLING PACKAGES 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Sept. 21, 1956STATION Y lq 5 STATION III INVENTOR Clarence W V5573 Oct. 3, 1961 c. w.VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 10 R9 wm m I f m E Z w ,V 7 C w? W 5 Wm y 1 n h Q\\ A m x a F... OI TV 2? o 4WI 3 w 6, m W

m 7 Odo/w m j 1961 c. w. VOGT 3,002,325

APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGES Original Filed Sept. 21, 19568 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR Chfiezzce W V0 91? FM 25mm 4,1 Arnie/min.

Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. VOGT APPARATUS FOR FORMING AND FILLING PACKAGESOriginal Filed Sept. 21, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 kg I,

INVENTOR Clarence W V092 M M. W. M

United State Pat n Clarence W. Vogt, Kettlecreek Road, Weston, Conn.Continuation of application Ser. No. 611,231, Sept, 21, 1956. Thisapplication Apr. 8, 1959, Set. No. 804,899 31 Claims. (Cl.,53-124) Thisinvention relates to the art of packaging and more particularly to themethod of packaging comminuted flo-wable material that is formretaining, yet moldable when packaged and readily disturbed, such as.flour, pancake or cake mixes, gelatinous materials or the like, as Wellas to the equipment for forming such packages.

This is a continuation of my U.'S. application Serial No. 611,231, filedSeptember 21, 1956, now forfeited, which is a continuation-in-part ofcopending applications Serial Nos. 594,152, filed June 27, 1956, andSerial ,No. 599,632, filed July 23, 1956. v

{is conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted that forease in handling and economy of storage, it is desirable that packagesbe rectangular in shape, preferably in the form of a parallelepiped.Where individual packages are formed that are triangular in crosssection and which are then juxtaposed to form a package that isrectangular in cross section, the pack.-v aging operation is much moretime consuming than it would be if the rectangular package were formedin a single operation and in addition would require much more wrappingmaterial,

Where a container is formed from sheet material and requires mechanismfor end folding the material, the forming operation is time consumingand adds greatly to the cost of the finished package. 'In addition,there is the likelihood that some of the material being packaged will betrapped between the end folds with resultant waste when the package isemptied. i Y

Where containers are formed from sheet plastic that is molded intorectangular form with lateral fins for sealing of a cover member thereonand the sheet must, be relatively thick to permit stretching to thedesired shape without rupture, as the fin portion, which is unstretched,would be relatively thick, it could not be bent flush against thecontainer and might crack or vtear. .As a result, in assembling amulti-unit package having a number of individual containers, as theycannot be closely juntaposed, the multi-un it pack-ages would haverelatively great bulk. In addition, the cost of the relatively thickplastic sheet adds greatly to the overall cost of the completed package.

Where the equipment forms a container and fills and seals the latter andeach of such steps is performed intermittently rather than continuously,the number of containers that can be formed, filled and sealed in agiven period is correspondingly limited.

t is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide arelatively simple method and comparatively simple equipment forcontinuously forming, filling and sealing containers made fromrelatively thin, ine gpensive sheet plastic material, which equipmentwill operate at :a relatively high rate :of speed without likelihood ofderangement.

Another object'is to provide :a method and equipment of the above typefor filling the containers with material that is mold-able and readilydisturbed when in packaged form yet becomes compacted so as to beform-retaining when packaged.

Another object is to provide a method and equipment of the above typewhich will form zpackagcs substantially in the form of a parallelepipedhaving din seals that may readily be bent {to be hush against the body 2of the package without likelihood of rupture or cracking for facility informing multi-unit packages in a minimum space and which package isWithout end folds, thereby dispensing with the need for mechanism forthis purpose and avoiding the possibility of trapping of some of thematerial that is packaged.

Another object is to provide a method and equipment for forming packagesof the above type with reinforce= ment members which prevent deformationof the com pleted package. V

Another object is to provide -a package of the above type that mayreadily be opened without the use of extra pull-strips, perforation ortearing of the plastic material and without deformation of the packageexcept for the portion thereof which is opened.

According tothe invention, the container comprises trough-shapr'edfbaseand cover members of relatively thin sheet plastic, each of said membershaving a fin extending laterally from the mouth thereof. The base andcover members are preferably triangular in cross section and ofcomplementary configuration so that when juxtaposed they will ,formsubstantially a parallelepiped.

' in a preferred embodiment a U-shaped reinforcement member has itscross piece extending parallel to a side Wall of one ofthe members andhas its legs extending parallel to and lying flush against the end wallsof; ;he'

base and cover members.

The. equipment for forming Said packages desirabiycomprises means forforming the trough-shaped base member by deforming sheet of plastic tothe desired shape. "Suitable filling means are provided to force acharge ofmform retaining yet moldahle material into the trough of thebase member so that it fills such trough in compacted form and protrudesbeyond the mouth of the latter also in compacted form. The equipment hasmeans for forming a trough-slraped cover member of configurationcomplementary to the protruding portion of the material being packagedand positioning such cover member over such material so that pressuremay there upon be exerted against juxtaposed lateral fins on the baseand cover members to seal them together without disturbing the contentsof the container defined by the base and cover members.

More particularly an endless conveyor is provided which carries amultiplicity of molding elements through the various steps of a completecycle of operation. At the first station, a continuous strip of plasticmaterial is applied over the cavities in the molding element as thelatter are advanced and while retained thereagainst, heat is applied tosoften such plastic so that upon application of suction to the moldingelements, the softened sheet may be drawn into the cavities to line thelatter to form the base member.

'lher-eupon at a reinforcement insertion station, a reinforcernentvmember is. formed and inserted into the lined cavities as they areadvanced by the conveyor. After this operation is performed, at acutting station following the reinforcement insertion station the stripof plastic material is severed between successive molding elements.

The molding elements thus lined and with the strip severed are fed bythe conveyor to a filling station where a charge of material is forcedinto the lined cavities from a magazine rotating in synchronization withthe moving molding elements. Thereupon the charged molding 61 ments aremoved away from the magazine and advanced to a cover member formingstation.

At this station a strip of plastic material is positioned over cavitiesin a plurality of cover member forming elements and such strip is heatedand softened so that it may be drawn into the cover member formingelement to form the cover member. Such cover members are Thereupon thecompleted packages are removed from the base member forming elements anddeposited upon a suitable conveyor. 7

In the accompanying drawings in Whichare shown one or more of variouspossible embodiments of the several features of the invention, j1 FIGS.1 and Zareplan views of the equipment according to one illustrativeembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

'FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the base member forming stationand reinforcement forming station;

, FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the cover member forming station;FIG. 5a is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5a5a of FIG. 5;I H

, FIG. 5b is a fragmentary side elevational view taken along line 5b--5b of FIG. 5a;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 of the package removal station; I 7

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. '2; I if FIG. 8is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale of the reinforcementforming and insertion station;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8; I

FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views of the cutting mechanism;

FIG. 12 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line1212 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the manifold taken along line 1313 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the operation ofthe ball valve actuating mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the base member molding element;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line 16-46 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16 taken along line 17-17 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of the porous cavity liner;

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a contamer;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line 2tl-2t9 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a reinforcement member; and

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary perspective view of the container showing thepull tab.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention herein shown anddescribed, the packages formed by the equipment comprises a container 20(FIGS. 19 and 20) having a base member 21 and a cover member 22, eachdesirably formed from a relatively thin sheet of thermoplastic materialsuch as Saran, polyethylene, polyvinyl resin or the like. The base andcover members 21 and 22 are trough-shaped as shown, each illustrativelytriangular in cross section having side walls 23, 24 and 25, 26extending from their apices 27, 28 and substantially parallel end walls29, 31. ,The mouths 32, 33 of the base and cover member are desirably ofthe same size and each has an outstanding peripheral fin 34, 35 which isan integral part thereof.

When the base and cover members 21 and 22 are juxtaposed with their fins34, 35 in engagement and secured together to form fin seals, aparallelepiped will be 4 formed having fin seals along the side wallsthereof and extending diametrically across the end Walls thereof.

In the preferred embodiment of the package shown, a portion of the fin35 of the cover member 22 at the end thereof as at 35a is not sealed tothe associated portion of fin 34' of base member 21 to provideanintegral tab for ready opening of the completed package in the mannerhereinafter described.

Desirably the base and cover members 21 and 22 are of'complementaryconfiguration so that the resultant package will be square in crosssection. 5 In order to prevent deformation of thepackage in the case ofpackaging comminuted and flowable form retaining, but deformablematerial such as flour, cake mixes, gelatinous mixtures and the like, areinforcement mem: ber 'is:-desirably provided. This member, as shown inFIG. 21 is a relativelystifi substantially U-shaped strip of cardboard,for example, having a substantially rectangular cross piece 42 desirablycoextensive with a side wall of one of the trough like members 21 and 22and rectangular legs 43 desirably coextensive with the end wall of thecompleted container, said end walls .43 de sirably being diagonallyscored as at 44 to permit ready bending thereof for facility of removalof the containerin the manner hereinafter described from the mold inwhich it is filled.

. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the cross piece ispositioned in the base member 21 so as to extend'parallle to and restagainst the side wall 23 thereof. With the. cross piece so positionedthe portion 45 of the legs 32 between the score line 44 and the apex 27of the base member will rest against the end wall 29 and the portion 46of the legs' 43 above the score line 44 'will extend beyond the mouth 32of base member 21 and rest against the end walls 31 of the cover member22, the ends 47 of legs 43 resting against the side wall 26 of the covermember adjacent the end wall 31 thereof.

The Width of legs 43 at the ends 47 thereof preferably is slightly lessthan its width at its opposed end so that the protruding portion 46 willbe slightly tapered to facilitate removal from the mold in which thepackage is formed.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 18 of the drawings, the various componentsof an automatic equipment for continuously forming, filling and sealingthe container shown in FIG. 19 will be described in detail.

Conveyor unit (FIGS. 1 to 3) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conveyor unitcomprises a pair of vertically spaced sprocket chains 61, 62 each ridingaround a pair of sprocket wheels 63, '64. The sprocket wheels areaflixed as by set screws 65 to an associated sleeve 66 through each ofwhich a vertical post 67, 68' extends, each of the posts being securelymounted at its lower end as by a set screw 69 in a socket 71 in a baseplate 72.

Keyed to the sleeve 66 encompassing post 68 is a gear 73 driven in anysuitable manner to rotate the associated sleeve 66 and hence thesprocket wheels 63 thereon to cause the sprocket chains 61, 62 to turnin a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Base member molding element (FIGS. 15 to 18) Carried by the sprocketchains 61, 62 are a multiplicity of identical base member moldingelements 75.. Each molding element in the illustrative embodiment shownis a substantially rectangular block 76 having a pair of parallelsubstantially triangular molding cavities or pockets 77 therein, theapex 78 of each of said cavities being adjacent the undersurface of theassociated block. Desirably the end and side walls 79 of each of thecavities 77 is tapered slightly to facilitate removal of the packagetherefrom.

' Positioned in the cavities in each of the blocks is a liner member 81(FIG, 18) of porous material such as r r i in t1 sintered bronze.Theliner member is illustratively of zig-zag conformation defining apair of triangular portions 82, each complementary to the triangularcavities 77 and adapted to fit into such cavities.

The apex of each of the triangular portions 82 of the liner 81 has asubstantially rectangular rib 83 along its undersurface adapted to fitinto a corresponding rectangular recess 84 in the block 76 at the apexof each of the cavities therein. The ends of each of the ribs 83 restson a seat 85 at each end of the respective cavities to space theundersurface of the rib from the floor of the rectangular recess in theblock as is clearly shown inFIG. 17.

The linear 81 is secured in the cavities in block '76 in any suitablemanner so that the side walls 87, 88 of each of the triangular portionsof the liner will rest against the associated side wall of the cavitiesas shown in FIG. 16.

Each of the blocks 76 has a port 91 in its side wall 92 leading intoeach of the cavities 77 through passageways 93 in the blocks so thatsuction may be applied to such cavities to form the base member of thepackage in the manner hereinafter described.

Base member molding element mount (FIG. 3

To connect the base member molding elements 75 to the sprocket chains61, 62 a multiplicity of substantially U-shaped mounts 95 are provided(FIG. 3). The ends of the legs 96 of mounts 95 have flanges 97 which aresecured as by rivets 98 to brackets 99 mounted on the top and bottomsurfaces of the links forming the sprocket chains 61 and 62respectively, thus supporting the cross piece 102 of each of the mountsin vertical position as shown in FIG. 3.

The cross piece 1&2 which illustratively is cylindrical, has a verticalbore 1113 which slidably mounts a rod 104, the latter having a mountingplate 165 afiixed to the upper end thereof to which a block 76 issecured as by screws 106. The block 76 is so mounted on the plate 165that the cavities 77 will extend at right angles to the runs of thesprocket chains.

To raise and lower the rod 1114 the lower end thereof is provided with aroller 103 which rides in a U-shaped track 199 vertically aligned withthe multiplicity of rods 104. The track is provided with elevatedportions 111 to raise the rods and associated molding elements 75 whererequired during the cycle of operation of the equipment.

Means are provided to maintain the base member molding elements 75equally spaced at angles of substantially 45 degrees to prevent drag asthey move around the sprocket wheels 63, 64.

To this end a pair of sprocket wheels 112-are provided keyedrespectively to each of the sleeves 66 on posts 67, '68 to rotate withsuch sleeves, the hub 113 of sprocket All/6618 112 defining spacers forthe sprocket wheels 63, '6

Each of the sprocket wheels 112 has a plurality of teeth 114 spaced atintervals of 45 degrees around the circumference thereof. The diameterof the sprocket wheels 112 is such that the leading edge 116 (FIG. 2) ofeach tooth, which has an arcuate configuration, will engage thecylindrical cross piece 162 of mounts 95 to guide the rods 1% so thatthey will be spaced by an angle of 45 degrees as they move around thesprocket wheels 63, 64.

Ease member strip insertion station I (FIGS. 2, 4, 7)

Means are provided to apply a strip of thin sheet plastic material 121over the cavities 77 in the molding elements 75 so that they may bedrawn into such cavities to form the base member 21 of the container.

To this end as illustratively shown in FIG. 2, a pair of spacedhorizontal shafts 122, 123 is mounted over the line of molding elements75 adjacent post 68. Each of elements.

the shafts mounts a pair of pulleys 12.4 which are vet: tically alignedwith the top end portions 125 of each molding element 75 extendinglaterally beyond the ends of the cavities therein. The pulleys areencompassed by endless belts 126, the lower runs 127 of which areadapted. to press against the top end portions 125 of the molding Thepulleys may be driven in any suitable manner so that the lower runs ofbelts 126 will advance at the same rate of speed as the advance of themolding elements by the sprocket chains 61, 62.

The strip 12-1 of plastic material may be drawn from a supply reel (notshown) by means of driven rollers 128 and fed beneath a guide roller 129to enter the nip 13.0

defined by the belts 126 and the end portions of the molding elements75. Thus, as the lower run v129 of the belts and the molding elementsare advanced, the strip 121 will be continuously drawn from its supplyreel.

Associated with the belts 126 and positioned therebetween adjacent shaft122 is a heating member 131 which is in close juxtaposition to the strip121 of plastic mate.- rial as it is advanced so that such strip will besoftened for ready deformation when suction is applied to ports 91 ofthe molding elements 75.

Although suction may be applied to ports 91 in any suitable manner asillustratively shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, a pair of spaced verticalshafts 133, l dare mounted adjacent the belts 126, each carrying apulley 135 which mount an endless perforated belt 136. The pulleys 135which may be driven in any suitable manner, are positioned so that theinner run 137 of the belt 136 will press against the vertical side walls92 of the molding elements 75 as they are advanced.

Positioned between the pulleys 135 and straddling the run 137 of belt136 are the legs 141 of a U-shaped-channel member 142, the latter havinga perforated wall 14.3 against which the belt run 137 rides and a port144; which may be connected to a source of suction.

Thus; when suction is applied to port .144 .it will through port 91 andpassageways 93 and porous liner .81 create suction in the cavities 77 ofthe molding elements 75 to draw the softened plastic strip 121 into thecavities as more fully described herein to form the base member 21.

Reinforcement member insertion station II (FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 8, 9)

Means are provided to insert a reinforcement member 41 of the type shownin FIG. 21 into each of the plastic sheet lined cavities in the blocks76.

The equipment forms such reinforcement :members from a continuous strip146 of suitable material such as cardboard of width equal to thecombined length of the cross piece 42 and legs 43 thereof. The strip 146which is mounted on a suitable supply reel (not shown) is fed betweenscoring rollers 1 17 which form scores between cross piece 42 and legs43 to facilitate folding of such legs and also for the diagonal scores44-.

Thereupon the strip 146 passes between cutting rollers 148 which severthe strip to form the individual reinforcement member. The severedstrips are propelled by rollers 151 between rollers 152 which havesuitable fingers 15'3'that engage the rear edge of each severedreinforcement member so that they will be properly positioned whenpropelled by rollers 152 against shoulders 15.4 'of a pair of starwheels or discs 155, the outer faces .156 of which are spaced by adistance substantially equal to the length of the cross piece 42 of thereinforcement member 41.

As shown in FIG. 9, the discs 155 are secured to a shaft 157, having asprocket wheel 158 thereon driven in any suitable manner in timedrelation with the advance of the molding elements 75 to rotate the discsin a clockwise direction. Each of the discs 155 has a plurality ofsubstantially triangular teeth 159 .illustratively eight in acoasse r 7number complementary to the lined triangular cavities 77 in the moldingelements 7 5.

The leading edge 161 of each tooth 159 desirably has a plate 162 ofporous material such as sintered bronze aifixed thereto and a passageway163 leads from such leading edge 161 to a port 164 in the side wall 156of a disc 155, the shoulder 154 previously described being at the rootend of each of such leading edges 161. In addition, an additional plate165 of porous material is also associated with each tooth and positionedon the side wall 156 of each disc, said plates being substantiallytriangular as shown and having their bases positioned along the base ofeach tooth. Each disc is provided with an additional passage 166,extending from the plate 165 to a port 167 also in the side wall 156 ofthe disc 155, said ports 164, 167 being arranged in concentric rows.Associated with one of the discs 155 is a fixed manifold 171 which isretained in airtight relation with the disc 155. The manifold 171 has anarcuate groove 172 therein with a suction port 173 connected thereto,the ports 164 being in communication with groove 172 when the teeth 153are in positions A, B, C and D and the ports 164, 167 being incommunication with groove 172 when the teeth 153 are at positions B, C,D. In addition, the disc 155 has a pressure port 174 with which theports 164, 167 are in communication when the teeth are at position E.

Straddled by discs 155 and mounted on shaft 157 is apair of sprocketWheels 176 which carries one end of endless sprocket chains 177, theother ends of said chains being mounted on sprocket wheels 178 carriedby a shaft 179.

Each of the parallel links of the sprocket chains 177 carries a pressuremember 181 extending transversely between the discs 155 and having atriangular conformation 182 on their outer surfaces complementary to thecavities 77 in the molding elements 75. The triangular conformation 182also conforms to the triangular teeth 153 so that they may be alignedtherewiht.

Associated with the discs 155 is a drum 154 mounted on a shaft 185having a sprocket wheel 186 thereon driven in any suitable manner, saiddrum having a toothed periphery 187 complementary to the teeth 153 ofthe discs 155 so that when the drum teeth 187 engage the disc teeth 159at position B, the cross piece 42 of reinforcement member 41 will besecurely clamped in position against the leading edges 161 of teeth 159.The drum 184 is of length substantially equal to the distance betweenthe outer faces 156 of discs 155 and a circular plate 188 is mounted oneach end of the drum 184, the diameter of said plate 135 being greaterthan that of said drum so as to overlap the latter to bend the ends ofthe reinforcement members against the suction plates 165 on discs 155 toform the legs 43.

Cutting station HI (FIGS. 3,

Means are provided to sever the span of sheet material 102 betweenadjacent molding elements 75. v To this end as shown in FIGS. 3 and 10,a cutting member 191 is provided comprising a shaft 192 extendingtransversely across the line of molding elements 75. Afiixed to the endsof the shaft is the mid-portion of arms 193 between the ends of whichextends a length of resistance wire 194 which may be heated in anysuitable manner.

Thus, when the shaft 192 is rotated in a clockwise direction from theposition shown in PEG. 3 in timed relation with the movement of themolding elements, the two lengths of resistance wire 194 willsuccesively engage the portions 195 of the strip 121 between adjacentmolding elements 75 to sever such strip.

Filling station (FIGS. 1, 3, 12)

The filling station shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 desirably comprisesa circularplate 261 having an axial opening 202 through which post 67 extends andhaving an hub 203 affixed as by set screw 204 to the upper end of thesleeve 66 mounted on said post 67.

The plate 251 which is mounted above a supporting bracket 265 for thepost 67 has a plurality of circular openings 2G6 therethrough,illustratively eight in number, equally spaced around its periphery.

Afiixed to plate 251 over each of the openings 206 is a filling head 210desirably of the type shown in c0- pending application Serial No.594,152, filed June 27, i956. As such filling head is clearly shown anddescribed in said patent application it will only be described herein tothe extent necessary for a clear understanding of the invention.

As shown in FIG; 3 the filling head comprises a boxlike housing 211,having a substantially frusto-conical inlet port 212 through its topwall leading into the interior of the housing. Positioned on the topwall of the housing 211 and secured thereto as by screws 214 is a hopper215, also preferably frusto-conical and having its lower end 216 alignedwith the mouth of inlet port 212.

Rotatahly mounted in the housing 211 is a valve member 221,illustratively a ball having a passageway 222 extending diametricallytherethrough and a radial passsgeway 223 of diameter substantially equalto that of passageway 222, which intersects the latter at substantiallyright angles to form a generally T-shaped passage in the valve member221.

To mount the ball 221, the inner wall of housing 211,- adjacent inletport 212, has an annular seat on which a resilient sealing ring 225 ispositioned. A cylindrical retaining member 226 adjacent the lower edgeof housing 211 has a bore therethrough with a curvature substan: tiallycorresponding to that of the ball 221 and the lower end of said bore hasan inwardly extending annular seat 229 opposed to sealing ring 225. Theretaining member 226 which may be afiixed to housing 211 as by screws231 has a flange 232 through which screws 233 extend to mount thefilling head 216 on the plate 261.

Although the ball 221 may be rotated in any suitable manner, in theillustrative embodiment shown, a shaft 237 is provided extendingtransversely of the housing 211 and rotatably mounted in the side wallthereof in leak-proof relation thereto. The shaft 237, which may berotated by a lever 238 has flats 239 formed on opposite sides of itsinner end to render it non-circular in cross section and said flattenedinner end is positioned in a slot 241 in a side of the ball 221 toenable the shaft 237 to rotate said ball 221 so that the passageway 222may be disposed vertically as shown on the right side of FIG. 3 toprovide communication between the hopper 215 and a magazine 242depending from flange 232 below plate 291 or horizontally as shown onthe left side of FIG. 3 to close the inlet port 212. When the passageway222 is in horizontal position, the passageway 223 will be disposedvertically in communication with the magazine.

As shown in FIG. 3, a clearance space 245 is provided between the ball221 and the inside of the housing 211. Positioned in the upper portionof the space 245 and encom-passing the ball 221 is a ring 246 ofsintered or porous metal preferably frusto-conical as shown. The upperedge of ring 246, which is of smaller diameter, is retained against aresilient O ring 2 18 positioned in an annular groove adjacent to andencompassing sealing ring 225.

The porous ring 24-6 forms the inner wall of an annular chamber incommunication with a port 252 leading into the housing 211. The surfacearea of the ring 246 is several times the diameter of the passageway223', so that when air under pressure is forced through ring 246 in themanner hereinafter described, there will be a rapid build up of pressureon the material in the magazine for ejection of such material.

Connected to port 252 is the control port 253 of a solenoid controlledvalve 254 of conventional type such as that put out by the RossOperating Valve Co. of De"- soonest trait Mic i he valve 254 h s a inletpo t 253 which may be connected by a line 259 to associated pressureport 261 of a manifold unit 262 and an exhaust port 263 which may beconnected by line 264 to an associated suction port 265 of manifold unit262.

Communication between ports 258, 253 and 263, 259 is effected throughvalves 266, 267 respectively, the former normally being closed and thelatter open when the solenoid controlling the valve 254 is de-energized.

The magazine 242 of the filling head 210 at its lower end (FIG. 12) hasa plurality of substantially triangular cavities 27?. therein each withporous side walls 272, 273- and with vents 274 associated with suchwalls and in addition, the end walls of the cavities 271 have ports 27%connected by passageways 275 to ports 276. The cavities 271 inthe'mag-azine are desirably complementary to those in block 76 so thatwhen the block is moved upwardly in sealing engagement with the lowerend of the: magazine, a substantially rectangular cavity will be formedwhich can be filled by expulsion ofmaterial through the. passageways 277in the magazine in the. mannerdescribed. in the aforementioned patentapplication.

As shown in FIG. 3,, the port 276. is. connected byline 273; to theassociated port 279 of manifold unit- 2.62..

Desirably the lower end of the magazine 2142 has a plnrcdity of taperedpins 230 which may enter correspond. ing openings in ears. 281 formed;integral with the blocks. 76. to, align the blocks and the magazines.

shown in FIGS. 3 and 1 3, the manifold unit-262j compris s a pair ofdiscs 232, 283; each with an axial. opening through, which the post 67extends. The disc: 282;;issecured to the plate 2% as by-a bracket2.841so that the. disc 282 will rotate therewith. The disc;23'3 iskeyed:to the post 67 as at 285 so that it'will be-vertically-movable withrespect thereto but restrained firom' rotation.

The disc 283 has an outer annular groove 291 and two: arcuate grooves292, 293 aligned respectively with the: concentric rows of ports; 2.61,265 and 279 in disc 282. The grooves 291, 292- :and. 293. are connectedby suitablelines to a source of pressure and? to two sources of'suctionrespectively, the suction applied to groove 292 being greater than thatapplied to groove 293 As clearly shown in FIGS. 3- and 13, the groove29.1: and ports 261 are in communication at all. times. The

groove 292 and ports 265 are in communication as the filling headsadvance from position D. (FIG. 1') pastposh tion G and the groove 293.and ports 279 arev in communication as the filling heads advancefromposition B to position D for the purpose hereinafter described.

Although the ball valve 221 may be rotated in; any suitable manner, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 14, the arm 238 has a roller 301, 302. at each endadapted to abut against. diametrically aligned fixed stops 3%,304=respectively. The stops 303, 394' are mounted on a bracket- 305having a hubv 306 afiixed' as by set screw 387491 post 67; Extendingradially from hub 3136 are diametrically aligned arms 308, 309, thearmflilfi mounting-the' stop 303 at its outer end and the arm 3tl9'-l1aving--a downwardly extending arm 31-1 With'a-IateraIlyeXtend ing finger312 which mounts'the stop 364;

The stops are positioned in the pathof movement of: the rollers 301, 302so; that when theplateltliis rotated; the roller 301 will engagestop130'3 between position; nd. A (B on iuedjm atin n theplate. h m238w1'11be t to urn all... a y 222 hrnilsh. an angle 0590 degrees s othat port 223 is veitftically;v aligned with-the magazine. Such movementis completed. while the filling head-advancestq position l} and,thereupon the roller 391 will ride beneath the,stop, ,30.3. toclear. thelatter.

When the roller 302 reaches position E it will engages thelower stop 304so that. with further. advan ce oi thew filling heads the arm 238' willbe rotated to turnh allj valye 10 is vertically aligned with the hopper215 a11d ;tltev magazine 242.

The stops and associated supporting structure are shown in broken linesin FIG. 3 in order to show their relative position with respect to theother components of the equipment. It is of course understood that the.elements shown in broken lines are displaced 96 degrees from theposition shown, i.e., they are actually in the position shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, a coil spring 314 encompasses the upper end of thepost 67 and is compressed between 303, SM and disc 233 of the. manifoldunit 262 to retain. such disc in sealing engagement. against disc 282..

Means are provided to energize the valve 2.54 in timed. relation withthe rotation of plate 201 so that valve 267 closes and valve 266'- opensto connect the source of gas under pressure from port 261 of themanifold unit through line. 259 into port. 252 of the casing 211.

To this end, a plurality of. micro-switches 315 are mounted. on plate291 associated respectively with each. of the filling heads 210. Each ofthe micro-switches has an upstanding actuating arm 316 which engage acam. 317 fixedto post 67 when the associated filling head is at: stationC and. such micro-switch which is, electrically connected to valve unit254 will retain the latter energized. for a sufiicient interval for.complete filling. oi the base member.

Cover member forming station V (FIGS. 1, 5")

The cover member forming station desirably comprises. a. drum 321 (FIG.5.) rotatable on. ahon'zontal} shaft 322 positioned over the line ofmolding elements 75. The. drum. has a plurality of molding elements,therein; each. having a triangular molding cavity 77 therein substan.tially identical in shape to the cavities 77 in the molding elements 75.Oneofthe end walls-oi? the drum 321 has elongated recesses. 320 in itsperiphery aligned respectively with the end, of the cavities, 77', eachof said. recesses being centrally located with respect. to the; 3.580"ciated cavity and oflength approximately one third oi. the maximum widthofsaid cavity. Each of said cavities has. a porous liner 8-1 thereinsubstantially identical to.- each of, the-triangular portions 82. of.the liners 81 showni in FIG. 18. Thus, each of the cavities 77 in drum.321.. has arectangular recess 84' at its apex into whichthe sub.stantially rectangular rib 83 of: the liner $1 is positioned, the endsof saidrib resting on seats at. each: end of. recess 83" to space. theundersurfaceof the rib fromthe. floor of; the recess 77.

Each recess 77 hasaj port 320 connectedby suitablel passageways 93toports 91' in the end wall. of the drum; arranged inv a circle-aboutshaft 322. A- manifold. 323 mounted, in fixed position with respect tothe rotatable? drum 321 and in airtight relation therewith has an;arcuate cavity- 324 withwhich a plurality ofthe portsv 9.1 are. aligned.as shownin FIG. 5. Themanifold also has; acircular cavity 325withwhichthe ports are successively aligned when they are at theirlowermost position.

The manifold has suitable ports (not shown.) connected to arcuate cavity324 andcircular. cavity 325. to.= which a source of vacuum and asourceof pressure. may be connected respectively.

Positioned; respectively on. each. side: of. the drum 321 and alsodirectly above the. latterare. rollers. 325,..3275 32,8 whichrnount, abelt 329 which.v is. retainedegainst; the periphery of the drum 321 anda heating element. 331. is. mounted adjacentroller. 328..

The b,elt .329- along the edge thereofaligned withtherecesses-32llindrum 321 has a plurality of spaced elongated.protuberances-32tl' on itsouter surface..complemen.-.

tary to said recesses. 32% so that they. may nest ill-,Said; recesses.Desirably,. the.v inner surface. of belt. 329 spaced-teeth 329;adaptedtov meshlwith correspondingg 222 through an angleof 9i) degreessgv that passagewax. depressions. 330f in.rol1ers1-326,L 327 and, 323.tocfiectl 1 1 accurate registry of the protuberanees 320' with theassociated recesses 320.

If desired, recesses 320 could be provided at both ends of the drum 321and both edges of belt 329 could have the protuberances 320'. Thus, whenthe end of a continuous strip 332 of plastic material is inserted intothe nip 333 between the portion of belt 329 engaging roller 328 and theperiphery of drum 321, such strip will be drawn from a supply reel (notshown) to overlie the cavities 77' beneath the lower run 329 of belt 329so that when suction is applied to the arcuate cavities 77 throughmanifold 323 the heated strip will be drawn into the cavities to formthe cover member 72 (FIG. 19).

Cutting station VI (FIGS. 1, 11)

- Means are provided to sever the span of sheet material 322 betweenadjacent molding elements 75 and also the spans of sheet material 121,322 between adjacent cavities in the molding element to complete thepackage. To this end as shown in FIG. 11, a cutting member 331 isprovided similar to cutting member 191 at station Ill. Cutting member331 has a shaft 332 extending across the line of molding elements 75.Afilxed to each end of the shaft 332 is the mid-portion of a pair ofcrossed arms 33 between the ends of which extend lengths of resistancewire 334 which may be heated in any suitable manner,

Thus, when the shaft 332 is rotated in a counter-clockwise directionfrom the position shown in FIG. 1 in timed relation with the movement ofthe molding elements, the four lengths of resistance wire 334 willsuecessively engage the spans of sheet material to sever the latterbetween adjacent cavities.

Package removing station VII (FIGS. 2, 6)

Means are provided to remove the completed packages from the moldingelements '75. To this end a pair of spaced horizontal shafts 336, 337are provided, the shaft 336 being located to the left of vertical post68 and the shaft 337 to the right of said post. Each of the shaftsmounts a pair of sprocket wheels 3355 which straddle the line of moldingelements '75. The sprocket wheels carry endless sprocket chains 339,each of the parallel links of which carries an elongated block 341 whichextends transversely across the line of molding elements. Each of theblocks has a triangular recess 342 therein complementary to thetriangular recess in drum 321 and the blocks are so positioned that whenthe shafts 336, 33'? are driven in timed relation with the advance ofthe molding elements, the successive cavities in the lower run 343 ofblocks 341 will nest over the triangular portions of the completedpackages extending above the molding elements.

Means are provided to efiect suction through the lower run 343 of theblocks 3 11 when they are in juxtaposition to the molding elements '75to retain the packages in the cavities 342 in the block.

- To this end, a suction unit 345 is provided which may comprise achannel member 345, the side and end walls of-which are against theinner surface of the lower run of blocks 341. Thus when suction isapplied through port 347 of the channel member 246 and throughpassageway 348 through the blocks 341, the packages will be retained bysuch suction in the cavities 342 in the blocks.

Positioned beneath the shaft 337 clear of the molding elements 75' is aconveyor belt 348' movable in the same direction as the lower run 343 ofthe blocks 341. The conveyor belt 348' has a plurality of triangulartroughs M9 thereon adapted to be aligned with therecesses in blocks 341so that when the packages carried by the blocks 341 are moved past theend 351 of the channel member 346 to break the suction, the packageswill drop .12 into the troughs 34950 that they will be removed from theequipment.

Operation In the operation of the equipment, a strip 121 (FIG. 4) ofplastic material is positioned at the base member forming station Ibetween rollers 128 and beneath roller 129 with the end of the strip atthe nip 130 between the belts 126 and the molding elements 75. By meansof a suitable drive (not shown) the gear 73 is rotated to turn sleeve 66on post 68 and hence rotate the associated sprocket wheels '63, 64 todrive the sprocket chains 61, 62 and the sprocket wheels 63, 64 on post67 (FIG. 3) to rotate the associated sleeve 66.

As the belts 126 clamp the strip 121 against the top surfaces of themolding elements 75 and as such belts are rotated in the same directionas the movement of the molding elements by the sprocket chains, thestrip 121 will be securely clamped against such molding elements. As thestrip moves past the heater 131 the plastic strip 121 will be softenedso that when suction is applied through port 144 of the channel member142 (FIGS. Zand 7)such suction will also be applied through theperforated belt 136 retained against the side walls 2 of the moldingelements 75. Consequently, as the belts 136 are rotating, also in timedrelation to the movement of the sprocket chains and the molding elementsthereon, suction will be applied through the ports 91 of the moldingelements 75, passageways 93, thence through the porous liner 81 to drawthe strip 121 inwardly into the cavity 77 in the molding elements torest against the Walls of the porous liner to conform to theconfiguration thereof to define a plurality of transversely extendingsemi-formed base members 21 (FIG. 19).

The semi-formed base members 21 will be advanced by the movement of theconveyor to the reinforcement forming and insertion station II. At thisstation a continuous strip 146 of suitable cardboard material, forexample, will be forced between the scoring rollers 14-7 which will formthe score lines in the cardboard strip to define the legs 43 of thereinforcement member 41 as well as the score lines 44. The scored stripis then fed between the cutting rollers 148 which when rotated willsever the strip to form the proper width of the reinforcemerit member.The severed portions of the strip, which are forced between the drivenrollers 151 will be rapidly ejected by such rollers between thepositioning rollers 152 and the arms 153 of such rollers will thereuponsuccessively propel the severed portions of strip 146 against theshoulder 154 of the rotating discs 155 (FIGS. 4 and 8).

, By reason of. the suction applied through passageways 163 to the portsin the leading edges 161 of the teeth 159 of the rotating discs 155associated with the porous plates 162 on said leading edges, the severedportions of strip 146 will be securelyretained against such leadingedges. Thereupon, as the discs 155 are rotated, the ends of the severedportions past the score lines defining the legs 43 thereof, will bemoved downwardly by the circular plates 188 on drum 184 and such legs 43as they are moved against the porous plate 165 of each tooth 159 will beretained against such plates by means of suction applied through ports167. As the toothed periphery 187 of drum 184 meshes with the teeth 15?on discs 155, the end portions of the cross piece 42 of thereinforcement member will be retained in locked position while the legs43 are folded downwardly, to prevent slippage.

The rotation of the discs 155 is timed with the movement of the moldingelements 75 by the sprocket chains. Hence, as the molding elements inwhich the semiformed base members have been positioned, advance past thediscs 155 at station II, the teeth of the disc 155 will enter thecavities 77 in the molding elements 75 to place the cross piece of thereinforcement member 13 against the, side, wall 23 of the. base memberas is clearly shown in FIG. 8 and the lower portions 45 thelegs 43 ofthe reinforcemeht member.will rest against the end walls 29 of. thebasemember 21. As the base member 21 is stil lin heated condition byreason of the heating element 131, the portions of the reinforcementmember thereagainst will bond thereto as such rein forcing membersdesirably have a microcrystalline coating of wait on their undersurface.With continued advance of the molding elernents 75' and rotation of thediscs-155, the pressure members 181 at station 11 will also advance toretain the reinforcement member 41 against theside. and end walls of thesemi-formed base member 21 tofinsu're'that sufiicient time will elapseso that thebase member 21' will 'cool to permit firm bonding ofthereinforcement member 41 thereto.

"Thereu'ponfthe se'rn i formed base member 21 with the reinforcementmember 41 inserted therein is advanced froni 'station IIto the. cuttingstation III (FIGS. 3, and

As the shaft 1&2 carrying the partial arms 1% is rotating intimedrelation withfthe advancefof the conveyor, the lieated'resist'ancewires 194 at each end of the arms will engage the span 195 of stripmaterial 121 between successive molding elements 75 to sever such stripma: terialthereby freeing the molding elements from each other so thatthey 'may move in an arc thereupon in the. manner hereinafterv to bedescribed, and forming lateral fins 34'." After the strip 121 has. beensevered, as thus described, the molding elements 75 with the semhformedbase members 21 and with reinforcement members 41 therein willbeadvanced by the conveyor to the filling station Referring to FIGS. 1and 3. of the drawings, as the sleevefofi, shown in FIGQ'3, is rotatedby the sprocket wheels 63, 64, the sprocket wheel 112 also mounted onsleeve 66 will similarly be rotated in a clockwise direction. Thetoothed end 114 of the sprocket wheel 112 will engage the cylindricalcross piece 102 of the mount 95 when the latter is at position A shownin FIG. If and thereupon as the mounts 95 move in an are around sprocketwheels 63, 64 (FIGS. 1 and 3) the toothed ends 114 of. sprocket wheel112 will retain the mounts 95 spaced by an angle of 45 degrees to insurealignment.

Asv the. molding elements advanced from the cutting station III shown inFIGS. l and 3 to the filling station IV,"th'e rollers 108 at the lowerend of rods 1% will ride up the inclined portion 111 of the track 109.

As the roller108 ridesfup the track it will raise the rod 164 and'hencelift the moldin'g'element 75 carried some upper end thereof; At the sametime as the molding element is. being raised as above described, thefilling unit at position H(FIG. 1) will be moved by the rotating plate201 from position H to position A and when such filling unit reachesposition A, the molding element 75 will have at such time been movedupwardly so that it is pressed against the lower end of the magazine 242of such filling "unit as is clearly shown in FIG. 3. Inasmuch as theteeth 114 of the sprocket wheel 112 are engaging the cross piece 102 ofthe mount 95, it is apparent that such mount will be accurately locatedand asth'edisc 201 and the molding elements '75 are moving in timedrelation, the'm'oldin g element 75 will be accurately located withrespect to the lower end' of the magazine and the pins 280 carried bythe magazine will enter the openings in ears 281 to insure that themolding element and the lower end of the magazine are in regisandretained in substantially airtight relation.

' The portion of track' 109 engaged by the roller 1% when the moldingelement" is in clamped position is desirably separate from the remainingportion of the track and is resiliently urged upwardly by suitable means(not shown) so" that dependable clampingwill beeliectedbetweenthemoldingelements and the magazine 242,

"Asthef'platf 201 rotated and the filling unit advanced from" positionH, toward position A, the roller 301 car.- ried by arm 238. engaged thefixed upper stop member 305, 'As the result, with continued movement ofthe filling unit. on the disc 261, the arm 238 will be rotated to turnthe ball valve- 221 through an angle of degrees from the position shownon the right side of FIG. 3 in which the diametric passageway 222provided COlTlInllHi cation, between the hopper 215 and the magazine 242to a position shown on the left, side of FIG. 3 in which the pasag'eway223 was in alignment with the magazine and the hopper was closed by theball.

With continued rotation of the plate 281 to move the filling'unit fromposition A (FIG. 1) toward position B; the roller 301" willmove beneaththe stop $03 to clear the latter, i "As the 'pl'ate 201 rotates to movethe filling unit frorn position and immediately after the moldingelement 75 i s completely clamped to the magazine 242 as showh in theleftside of FIG. 3, the rotatable disc Z82 ofthe manifold 2552 will haverotated sufficiently so that the port 279 thereof connected to port 276of the magazine 242 to which the molding element 75 has just beenclamped, will have moved into alignment with arcuate groove 29 3 inthefiJ red disc 283. As a result, suction will be applied to port 276 ofthe magazine 242, which through passageway 275 Will cause the upstandinglegs '43 of thefreinforcement member 41 to be retained against thebeveled end walls of the magazine so that they will be in desiredposition for filling and no material will seep between thelegs 43 andthe end walls of the magazine.

Asth'e filling unit is advanced from position B (FIG. 1) towardpositlionc, immediately prior to reaching position C, the; upstanding arrrrfiloof the microswitch 315 associated withthe filling unit will engage thecam 317 afiixed to lthepostofto actuate the switch 315 therebyenergizing the solenoid operated valve unit 254 to close valve 267 antlopen valve 266 thereof. Consequently, a source of gas under pressurewill be applied from annular groove 29:1v indisc 283 of themanifoldthrough theassociated port 261, line 259 to port 258 of the valve unit254- and thencethrough open valve 265 and port 253 into port 25 2 of thecasing 211. The gas is preferably driedbefore applicationso that any gasthat will enter the. container 'being charged, will have the minimum ofwater vapor. Thecompressed gas will pass through the porous ring 246 ,incasing 211 and exert pressure-against the ends of passageway 222 againstthe upper portion ofthe-masso fvmaterial in the passageways 2.22, 223and in the magazine 242; As the surface area of the porous ring isseveralitimes that ofjthe diameter of the passageway-223, it is apparentthat there will be a rapid buildup of, pressureon the material in themagazine which is previouslycharge'd in the manner to be described, suchpressurebuild -upbeing necessary to obtain uniform compactness. i v

As the. gas is. diffused by passing through porous ring 246, channelingof the gas through the comminuted material and turbulence above thematerial are largely e1iminated. I

By reason of such gaspressure on the material, itwill be forced atrelatively highspeed through passageway 277 in the lower end of themagazine in the manner described in co -pending patent applicationSerial No. 524,: 15 2, to fill the rectangular cavities defined by therein} forced basemembers 21 and the cavities 271 in the magazine 242 Byreasonof such gas pressure the reinforced troughs in the base members 21will be filled with material in compacted form and such material willalso protrude above th e mouth of the base member as at X (FIG. 5) alsoin compacted form being retained by the walls of the cavities 2 71 inthemagjazine 242 and the upper portion 46 oithe legs 1430f thereinforcement member 41in (Z5 prismatic shape Cpn sequeatly withcontinued rotation of plate eat, the arm 316 of switch 315 will moveaway from cam 317 to de-energize valve unit 254. Hence, valve 266 willclose to shut off the application of gas under pressure and valve 267will open to connect suction to the interior of the casing 211 from port265 of disc 232 of the manifold, line 264 to port 263 of the valve unit254. Although there is a tendency for the material in the magazine andthe passageways 222 and 223 to be forced toward port 263 upon release ofthe pressure and application of suction, by reason of the porous ring246, none of the material will pass therethrough into the suctionsystem.

As the plate 201 rotates to-advance the filling unit from position Dtoward position E,as the track has a depression at such portion, theroller 108 will ride down the track to move the molding element 75 awayfrom the lower end of the magazine. Prior to such downward movement ofthe molding element 75, the suction applied to port 276 of the magazinewill be cut off by reason of the fact that the arcuate groove 293 incommunication with ports 27 terminates prior to the region at which thetrack slopes downwardly to effect the separation between the moldingelement 75 and the magazine. Such cut-off of suction is required at thisposition inasmuch as that if it were maintained, the legs 43- of thereinforcement member 41 would be retained against the end walls of themagazine 242 so that when the magazine and molding element wereseparated the filled base member 21 would tend to be pulled out of themolding element 75.

As the portion 46 of the legs 43 of the reinforcement member d1 willbend at the score lines 44 to rest against the tapered end walls of thecavities 271 in the magazine, withdrawal of the molding element from themagazine will occur without disturbing the compacted material. Inaddition, as the upper edge of the compacted material at the ends ofeach cavity in the base member is adjacent the apex Y of the legs 43,the latter will also prevent disturbance of such upper edge.

As the rotating plate 201 moves the filling unit from position D towardposition E, the roller 302 carried by the arm 238 which controls theball valve 221, will engage the lower stop member 304 and with continuedrotation of the plate 2M the arm 238 will be moved to turn the ballvalve 221 to the position shown on the right side of FIG. 3 in which thediametric passageway 222 is vertically aligned with the hopper 215 inthe magazine 242. As the disc 201 rotates from position E in a clockwisedirection, the roller 302 will move over the fixed stop to clear thelatter.

Thus, the filling unit is ready to be recharged with material to bepackaged. From position E (FIG. 1) the molding elements 75 which areadvancing along a straight path, will begin to move away from the lowerend of the magazine 242 which is moving in a circular path and as themolding elements 75 and the magazine 242 are completely spaced from eachother at such point, such movement will be eiifected without disruptionof the material extending above the upper surface of the moldingelements. As the plate continues its rotation and the filling unitsadvance from position E in a clockwise direction toward position A, thehoppers 215 will become aligned with a suitable annular supply hopper(not shown) positioned above the hoppers 215. 7

As communication is provided between the annular supply hopper, thehopper 215 and through ball valve 221 to the magazine 242, the latterwill be charged with the material to be packaged. By reason of therelatively small passageway 2'77, no material will fall therethrough. Assuction is applied from arcuate groove 292 in manifold disc 283 to theassociated port 263 of the valve unit 254 and through open valve 267 andport 253 to port 252 of the casing 211, a partial vacuum is created inthe interior of the latter. Although the material will fall by gravityinto the magazine 242, such vacuum applied through porous ring 246 andpassageway 223 into pas- Its v sageway 222 will enhance the rate of fallof the material from the hopper 215 into the magazine 242 to speed upthe charging cycle. By reason of the porous ring 246, none of thematerial to be packaged will pass there through.

In addition to such vacuum reducing the time for the charging cycle,where material such as brown sugar is being packaged, the vacuum willprevent clogging of such material due to the binding effect to themolasses therein. Furthermore, it tends to eliminate segregation orunmixing of fine and less fine particles or unmixing of smooth particlesfrom rough or flaky particles.

As the plate 201 rotates, the filling units will advance toward positionA. As the filling unit advances from position H to position A, the ballvalve will be rotated through an angle of degrees as previouslydescribed, and as the filling unit is advanced from position A towardposition B, the molding element 75 willvbe raised by the upwardlyinclined track, also in the manner previously described to provide acontinuous operation.

After the charged molding elements 75 move away from the filling units,they will advance toward the cover member forming and applying station V(FIGS. 1 and 5).- At this station the strip 332 of plastic materialretained against the periphery of drum 324 by the belt 329 was heatedand softened by heating member 331 so that upon application of suctionto annular groove 324 through the associated manifold 323, such softenedstrip material was drawn into the cavities 77' in the drum 324 to formthe trough-shaped cover members 22 (FIG. 19) which will thus far be in acontinuous strip.

As the drum 324 shown in FIG. 5 is rotating in a counterclockwisedirection in timed relation with the movement of the molding elements 75which are moving to the right, the portions of the strip 332 on theperiphery of the drum between adjacent cavities 77 therein as well as atthe ends of each cavity willengage the corresponding portions of thestrip 121 between adjacent cavities 77 in each molding element 75 asWell as the portions of strip 121 at each end of the cavities 77; As theperiphery of the drum between adjacent cavities, as well as at the endsthereof is desirably heated by suitable heating elements H, the strip ofplastic material extending across such heated portions of the peripheryof drum 32 will be retained in softened condition so that when pressedagainst the portion of the strip 121 around the periphery of thecavities in each molding element,75, the two strips will bond togetherto seal the containers defined by the base and cover members.

it is to be noted that as the portion 35a of the fin 35 of the covermember is in the associated recess 320v in drum 321, it will not bepressed against the associated portion of fin 3d of the base member andhence will not adhere thereto. However, as the ends of the cover member22. will adhere to the wax coated surface of the legs 43 of thereinforcement member, an airtight bond will still be formed even at theregion of the unsecured portion 35a.

Thus, with continued rotation of the drum 321 and movement of themolding elements 75, the cover members 21 formed in the drum will becontinuously bonded to the base members 22 in the molding elements.

As the cavities 77' in the drum 321 are substantial y identical to thecavities 271 in the magazine 242, the portions of the compacted materialprotruding from the base members 21 will not be disturbed as pressure isonly applied against the plastic material aroundthe peripheries of thecavities in the molding elements 75 by the drum 342. Furthermore, as theend walls 31 of the cover member 22, applied by drum 321 will pressagainst the outer surface of the legs 43 of the reinforcement member 41,the ends of the packaged material will also not be disturbed.

As the end walls of the cavities 77 in the drum 321 are desirablytapered slightly, when the drum rotates moo 33 33 17 to move thecavities therein away from the advancing molding elements 75 there willbe no disturbance of the material protruding above the molding element75,;for the cavities 77' in the drum will readily clear the cover member22 which has been applied to the base member 5 21 and adhered thereto. 7I

With continued advance of the molding elements by the conveyor, thematerial thus tar packaged will be advanced to the second cuttingstation VI which, as shown in FIG. 11, has four cutting wires 334"extending 10 transversely across the line of moving molding elementsspaced 90 degrees apart. 7

As the cutting member 331 is rotating in timed rela tion with themovement of the molding elements} it is apparent that the wires whichare heated ii'r suitable l5 manner, will engage the" spans ofstripmaterial 121, 332 between adjacent cavities in the molding element aswell as the span of strip material 332 between adjacent mold in'gelements so that the continuous stripfof material from the cover memberforming unit V willbe severed as will be the previously severed portionsof the strip which forms the base" member. Consequently; after themolding elements pass the second cutting station \{L- individualpackages' P will'be p'ovided', each in its separate'c'avity in the moldingelements. j I The completedpackages are advanced by themolding elements75 to the package removing station'VIl shown in FIGS. 2 and 6; At thisstation the blocks" 3 41 carried by the sprocket chains 339 aresuperimposed over the cavities in the molding elements 75 sothat thetriangular recesses 342 in; the blocks arje ua pqsea ar na up; standing5 triangular portions of thecompleted packages; As'the sprocket chains339' are movingfintimed relation with movement of-the molding elements75,'wherr the blocks 341pass beneath the-su ction ambershown 5 in FIG;6, as the result at the suction'applied to passageways 348 in theblocks; the packages" P will be retained in the triangular cavities" 52fin s uclr blocks. Consequently, when the inblding eler'nents-arelowered as shown in FIGl 6, by reason of the riding ofthe rollers 40 108themes sews inclined po rt ion ot"the track, the packages will beremoved from the molding elements "Z5 bcing r'etainedin thetriarigularrecesses QQZijnljloCks 41".; The molding elements 7 5 are; lowered'sufiiciently before they are moved"in; a'-circula1fpath asfihowrr iri;45 FIG. 2 so that theyv willn'ot abutagainstthe packages P retained inthe blo'cks 341;,;.which' in ngialonga straight line. When th e belts339 c ngthe' blocks .E FY, 341 has advancedthe latteripastthe suctionchamber" 5 they will thereuponbe'positioned over trgugn inconreyor' belt348 and 'a's suction has ased; the inu vidual packagesl will sni intoanassociated trough to be carried away bysaid -clon eyoribelt' 34 s.; Whenthemolding' elements at the posit njust' before they start theircirculanmovementas' showpfin FIG. 2-, the cross piece lEl'ZthereOfillb'e efigagedby the tooth 114 ofthe associated sprocket wheel-"112 sothatas th'e moldi'ngelement's thereupon rnove'in a 'circu=' lar'path,they will be spaced equally by an"angle"of"45 degrees. Thus, wh'enthe"molding elementreaches"the' 50 inlet to thebasemembe'r forming;station'l (FIG.' 2), it will be-aligned with-the stripdzlso thatthe'latterwill be accurately positioned on thetopof'the molding ele;ment to form the base memberin a'mann'er previously 18 43 of thereinforcement member 41' so that the sheet material encompassing thecompacted contents of the con' tainer will be securely retained in placewithout likelihood of slippage.

By reason of the unsecured portion or tab 35a, it is a readily simplematter for the package to be opened; Thus; by pulling the portion 35atoward the apex of the leg 43 of the reinforcement member 41 in covermember 22, the plastic material may be stretched untillit is clear ofthe portion 46 of said leg 53. Such stretching without' tearing of thematerial is effected by reason of the fact that the plastic bondsreleasably tothe wax coating on the leg 43 of the reinforcement member.Thereupon, the portion 46 may be bent outwardly along score line toprovide a mouth for removal of the contents of the package. y

When the desired quantity has been removed from the package, the legportion 46 may be moved inwardly and theplastic material restored toagain close the package; As the packages thus formed have no end folds,no trapping will occur of any of the material beingpa'ckaged Althoughthe equipment above described has been shown as forming packages thatare square in cross sec tion; it is of' course to be understoodthatpackages having" other configurations could be made. Thus, forinstance, if' desired, the magazine could be designed to charge themolding elements onlyup to the level of their top surface and with thereinforcement member eliminated; the cover forming station could applya' flat strip of plastic material over the top surface ofthe moldingele' ments so that when the plastic'strips are severed a package will beformed that is'trian'g'ular in crosssect'ion.

With the equipment; above described, a completely automatic packageforming, filling andgs'ealing operation may be performed producinguniform sized packages, with substantially equal weights of material,regardlcssof variations of density ofthe material from batch to batchandas' the equipment operates continuously, packages may', be completedat a" relatively high rate of speed. The; number of packages that may beproduced is of course dependent upon the rate of movement of theconveyor; belts and it desired, each molding element may have more thantwo molding cavities therein'charge'd'from a single filling unit.

Furthermore, by reason of the comp-acting of'the nonformretaining-materialga given'weight ofmaterial will occupy a considerablysmaller volume than'the corre sponding'non-compacted weight of the samematerial.

Thus for certain pulve'rulent materials compacted at a pressure of100"p.s.i., for example, the volurneof the package may be approximatelypercent of the volume of an equivalent weight of non-compacted material.Con; sequentlyg'the amount of shelf space to. storeand 'display'thepackages is'greatly reducedas is the" quantity of'ni'a' tcrial toform the container.

In, addition, "as interstitial spaces are reduced to a mi'nimum,-and astherc'iisisubstantially no'head room, there Will'be little air with itsentrained water vapor iit'tlie completed p'ackage whichgives increasedflexibility in the type and formulation of materials that canbepackaged. ,7

As many changes could be made in'the' above man-6n and constructiorn'andmany apparently widely difierent embodiments" of" this invention couldbe made without departingfrom the scope'of the'claims, it' is"in'tended;thafall'matt'ercontained" in the above description shown inthe"accompanying drawingsshall "be interpreted as illustrative and'not'in a limiting'sense.

I'jclainf; y

liEquipmen't" of the character described comprisi a: conveyor carrying aplurality of molding" element's, eachhaving a molding cavity therein;and a cover merry ber forming unitlcomprisin'g a plurality of moldinggema s a iha ss am' s ns l v ty hae s' saiv; liavingporouswalls "for newof gas 'th'e'rethrough; means? for supplying a thin strip ofthermo-plastic material to said molding elements in a position overlyingmolding elements on said conveyor and molding elements of said formingunit, means for clamping such strips to said molding elements at theperiphery thereof, means for heating and softening said strips, meansfor exerting suction through said porouswalls to draw such softenedstrips into the associated molding cavity to define a trough-shaped basemember and cover member respectively, a filling head overlying saidmolding elements on said conveyor, means to effect relative movement between said filling head and said molding elements to effect a sealbetween the filling head and the periphery (if a base member in amolding element aligned with said filling head, means in said fillinghead to force material therefrom into the trough of said base member tofill such trough in compacted form within the boundaries thereof and toprotrude above said base member also in compacted form, said moldingcavity in the cover member forming unit being complementary with theprotruding portion of the material being packaged, means to move themolding elements of said cover member forming unit toward the moldingelements on said conveyor to position the cover member over theprotruding portion of the material in said base member and means to sealthe peripheries of said base and said cover members. i 2. Equipment forcontinuously forming and filling packages, comprising an endlessconveyor, a multiplicity of molding elements carried by said conveyor,each of said molding elements having a molding cavity therein, a;bas emember forming station comprising means movable in timed relation to themovement of said conveyor to apply a thin strip of thermo-plasitcmaterial to the successive molding elements as they are advanced, in aposition overlying the cavities therein and to clamp said strip to saidmolding elements, means for heating and softening said strip and meansfor drawing said strip into the associated cavity to define atrough-shaped base member, means for severing the span of strip materialbetween adjacent molding elements, a filling station comprising meansmovable in timed relation with the movement of the conveyor to introduceflowable material into the base member, means after the base member hasbeen filled to apply a cover member over the filled base memher andmeans after the base member has been covered to remove the filled andcovered base member from the cavity in the associated molding element.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along a straight pathand a portion along which the molding elements are moved along anarcuate path, the base member forming station is located at the firstmentioned portion of the conveyor and the filling station is located atthe last named portion of the conveyor.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the conveyor comprisesa pair of spaced upright members, an endless member encompassing saidupright members and having portions along which the molding elements aremoved along straight paths and arcuate paths, and means to reciprocatesaid molding elements as they are advanced by the conveyor.

5. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along a straightpath, the base member forming station is positioned at such portion, andcomprises an endless belt having a lower run adapted to move parallel toand in juxtaposition with the top surface of the molding elements, saidstrip of sheet plastic material being applied between the lower run ofsaid endless belt and the top surfaces of the associated moldingelement.

6. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along a straightpath, the base member forming station is positioned at such portion andcomprises an endless belt-having a lower run adapted to move parallel toand in juxtaposition with the top surface of the molding elements, saidstrip of plastic material being applied between the lower run of saidendless belt and the top surfaces of the associated molding elements,each of the molding elements having a passageway leading from a wallthereof into the associated cavity and the means for drawing the stripinto the cavity, comprises a suction unit coacting with the opening insaid wall.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6 in which the suction unitcomprises an endless perforated belt having a run thereof adapted toengage the wall of said molding elements with which said passageway isin communication and a suction chamber associated with said run of theperforated belt, whereby when suction is applied to said chamber,suction will be applied through the perforations in the belt alignedtherewith to create suction in the cavities in the associated moldingelements.

8. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which means are providedsuccessively to introduce a reinforcement member into'the base membersin the cavities of said molding elements as the latter are advanced bysaid conveyor.

9. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along a straight pathand means are provided at such portion successively to introduce areinforcement member into the base members in the cavities of saidmolding elements as the latter are advanced by said conveyor.

10. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion-along wlzlich the molding elements are moved along a straightpath, means are provided successively to introduce a reinforcementmember into the base members in the cavities of said molding elements asthe latter are advanced by said conveyor, said means comprising arotatable member having a plurality of teeth on its periphery eachcomplementary to the cavities in the molding elements and adaptedsuccessively to enter such cavities as the molding elements are advancedby the conveyor, means successively to position a reinforcement memberon the teeth of said rotatable member, means to retain suchreinforcement member against such teeth and means to release suchreinforcement member when the tooth on which it is positioned hasentered an associated cavity.

11. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along a straightpath, means are provided to introduce a reinforcement member having across piece and a pair of legs into the base members inthe cavities ofsaid molding elements as the latter are advanced by said conveyor, saidmeans comprising a re.- tatable member having a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced teeth on its periphery each complementary tothe cavities in the molding elements and adapted successively to entersuch cavities as the molding elements are advanced by the conveyor,means successively to position the cross piece of such reinforcementmember on the teeth of said rotatable member so that the legs of thereinforcement member extend laterally beyond the circumferentiallyspaced teeth, means to retain such cross piece against such teeth, meansto fold the legs downwardly at substantially right angles to the crosspiece, means to retain such legs in such position and means to releasethe reinforcement member when the tooth on which his positioned hasentered an associated cavity in the molding element.

12. The combination set forth in claim 11 in which the rotatable membercomprises'a pair of spaced discs, each having a plurality of saidcircumferentially spaced teeth, transversely aligned surfaces of saidteeth each having a porous plate against which the ends of the crosspiece of the reinforcement member is positioned and the means to retainthe cross piece against the teeth com-- prises means to apply suction tosaid porous plates.

13. The combination set forth in claim 11 in which the rotatable membercomprises a pair of spaced discs, each having a plurality of saidcircumferentially spaced teeth, transversely aligned surfaces of saidteeth each having a porous plate against which the ends of the crosspiece of the reinforcement member is positioned and the outer surface ofeach plate adjacent each tooth having a porous plate against which thelegs of said cross piece are positioned and the means to retain thecross piece against the teeth and the legs in position comprises meansto apply suction to said porous plates.

14. The combination set forth in claim 11 in which defining a crosspiece and a pair of legs, a pair of mum,

between which the strip is fed by the scoring rollers, said last namedrollers severing the stripto form reinforcement members, means tointroduce a reinforcement member into the cavities of said moldingelements as the latter are advanced by said conveyor, said meanscomprising a rotatable member having aplurality of circumferentiallyspaced teeth on its periphery, each complementary to the cavities in themolding elements and adapted successively to enter such cavities as themolding-elements are advanced by the conveyor, means successively toposition the cross piece of such reinforce ment member on the teeth ofsaid rotatable member so that the legs of the reinforcement memberextend laterally beyond the circumferentially spaced teeth, means toretain-such cross piece against such teeth, means to fold the legsdownwardly at substantially right angles to the cross piece, means toretain such legs in such position and means to release the reinforcementmember when the tooth on which it is positioned has entered anassociated cavity.

16. The combination set forth in c1aim-2 in which'th'e conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along an arcuatepath, a plurality'of filling units are associated with such portion andmovable in a circular path, each of said filling units having a magazineto be filled with the'material to be packaged, means successively toefifect'seals between saidimagazines'and the base members insaidrnoiding elements while' said molding elements and filling units'are moving and means when said magazine and said base members are insealing engagement to force material from said magazine into said basemembers to charge the latter.

17. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has aportion along which the molding elements are moved along an arcuatepath, a supporting member rotatable on an axis aligned with the axis ofthe arcuate path of movement of the molding elements, a plurality offilling units circumferentially spaced on said supporting member, eachhaving a magazine positioned over the molding elements, and adapted tobe filled with the material to be packed, a vertically reciprocablemount for each of said molding elements, means successively to raise themolding elements to move the periphery of the base member in the latterinto sealing engagement with the magazines and means to thereupon forcethe material in the magazines into the associated base member to chargethe latter.

18. The combination set forth in claim 17 in which the conveyor carriesa plurality of mounts, each having a vertical hollow cross piece, a rodis slidably positioned in each cross piece and mounts a molding elementat its upper end, and means coacting with the lower end ofsaid rod toraise and lower the latter.

19. The combination set forth in claim 17 in which the conveyor carriesa plurality of mounts each having a. vertical hollow cross piece, a rodis slidably positioned, in each cross piece and mounts a molding elementat its upper end, means coacting with the lower end of said rod to raiseand lower the latter and means rotatable on the axis of said supportingmember to engage the cross piece of said mounts as they move in anarcuate pathto space adjacent mounts a predetermined amount.

29. The combination set forth in claim 17 in which:

each of the filling units has a hopper, and a valve con trollingcommunications between said hopper andthe associated magazine, and meanscontrolled by the rotation of said supporting member to actuate saidvalve to cutv ofi communication between said hopperand said magazineprior to movement ofthe associated molding element to elrect sealingengagement of saidbase mem her with the magazine and to actuate saidvalve to pro vide communication between said hopper andsaid-maga zineafter the material in the'latter has been-forced into' the base member.

21. The combination set forth in claim 17 in whicheach of the fillingunits has a hopper and a filling valve controlling communication betweensaid hopper and the associated magazine, means controlled by therotation of said supporting member to actuate said-valve" to cut oncommunication between said hopper and saidmtiga'zirie prior to movementof the associated molding elern'ent to" effect sealing engagement o'fsaid base memberwith said-' magazine and to actuate said valve toprn'videcommuata" cation between said hopper and said magazine after-thematerial in the latter has been forced into the-base member, and meanscontrolled by'the rotation of sa'id sup porting member to apply a sourceof'ga's 'unde'r pressure forming station and the severing means arelocated-' along one of said straight paths, the fillings'ta'tion-islocated along the arcuate path and the means to apply the' cove rmemberis located along the other of said straightpaths.

23. The combination set forth'in' claim22-inwhic'h the means to applythe cover rnembercomp isesa drumhaving a plurality of cavities thereincenr iememary' to the cavities in the molding elements, said drumbeingpositioned over said molding" elements witha"- portion thereof injuxtaposition thereto, means reapply antiperthermo-plastic material tooverlie the cavities in the drum, means to heat and soften such strip,means to draw such softened strip into the drum cavity to form the covermember and means after the cover member has been applied to the basemembers to sever the span of strip material between adjacent cavities inthe molding elements.

24. The combination set forth in claim 2 in which the conveyor has a.portion along which the molding elements are moved in a straight path,the means to apply the cover member comprises a drum having a pluralityof cavities therein complementary to the cavities in the moldingelements, said drum being positioned over said molding elements with aportion thereof in juxtaposition thereto, means to apply a strip ofthermo-plastic material to overlie the cavities in the drum, means toheat and soften such strip, means to draw such softened strip into thedrum cavities to form cover members and means after the cover member hasbeen applied to the base member to sever the span of strip materialbetween adjacent cavities in the molding elements to form the completedpackspoasas ages, the means to remove a filled and covered base membercomprising an endless belt having a lower run thereof movable in thesame direction as said molding elements, the lower run of said endlessbelt having a plurality of cavities therein complementary to the covermember portion of the packages and adapted to successively encompass thelatter as said lower run and said molding elements advance, means toretain the packages in the cavities in said belt, means to move saidmolding elements so that they are clear of said belt, and means tothereupon discharge the contents of the cavities.

25. The combination set forth in claim 24 in which the means to retainthe packages in the cavities in said belt comprises a source of suction,and means to apply such suction to such cavities.

- 26. The combination set forth in claim 22 in which the means to applythe cover member comprises a drum having a plurality of cavities thereincomplementary to the cavities in the molding elements, said drum beingpositioned over said molding elements with a portion thereof injuxtaposition'thereto, the periphery of said drum at one end thereofhaving recesses therein aligned respec tively with the ends of saidcavities, an endless belt adapted to engage the periphery of said drum,said belt having spaced protuberances adapted to seat in the recesses insaid drum, means to apply a strip of thermoplastic material between thebelt and the periphery of said drum to overlie the cavities in said drumand the recesses in the end wall thereof, means to heat and soften suchstrip, means to draw such softened strip into the drum cavity to formthe cover member and means after the cover member has'been applied tothe base member to sever the span of strip, material between adjacentcavities in the molding elements.

27. Equipment for filling containers comprising an endlcssfconvcyor forreceiving a plurality of receptacles to be filled, said conveyor beingmovable through an endless path, at least a part of which is arcuate, aplurality of filling units adjacent to said portionof said' path andmovable'in a path concentric with said curved portion, each of saidfilling units including a magazine having a filling opening to receivecomminuted material and a discharge opening for filling said comminutedmaterial into said receptacles, means to effect seals successivelybetween I said magazines and said receptacles while said magazines andsaid receptacles are moving together along said arcnate portion of saidpath, means for opening and closing said filling opening and means forapplying gas at superatmospheric pressure to said material for forcingsaid comminuted material from said magazine into said receptacle whilethey are sealed to each other and said filling opening is closed.

28. The equipment set forth in claim 27 in which each of said fillingunits includes a hopper and said means for opening and closing saidfilling opening comprises a valve afiord communication between saidhopper and said maga- Zine While said magazine is not sealed to areceptacle and to cut oil? communication between said hopper and saidmagazine prior to effecting a seal between a receptacle and saidmagazine and While they are sealed.

29. Equipment for filling containers comprising a conveying membermovable'through an endless path for receiving receptacles and movingthem along at least a portion of said path, at least one filling unitincluding a hopper for receiving comminuted material to be filled intosaid receptacles, a magazine having a discharge opening and a fillingopening, and a valve interposed between said filling opening and saidhopper for affording com.

munication between the hopper and the magazine to enable said comminutedmaterial to flow from said hopperinto said magazine and shutting offcommunication between thern, means supporting said unit for movementalong a path at least in part coinciding with said portion of said pathof said conveying member, means for eifectmg a seal between the magazineand a receptacle around said discharge opening during movement along thecoinciding parts of said paths and thereafter separating said receptaclefrom said magazine, means for actuating said valve for shutting offeommunicationbetween said hopper and said magazine prior to eiiectingsaid seal, and means for applying gas under pressure to said comminutedmaterial in said magazine While the latter is sealed to a I'd-j ceptacleto discharge material through said discharge opening into saidreceptacle, said valve being actuated by said valve actuating means toafford communication between said magazine and said hopper when themagazine is separated from said receptacle.

30. The equipment set forth in claim 29 in which a. portion of theendless path through which said conveying member moves said receptaclesis arcuate, and the coin-' ciding part of the path of the filling unitis concentric withsaid portion.

31. The equipment set forth in claim 29 in which said means supportingsaid filling unit is a rotary member and comprising a plurality of saidfilling units mounted in angularly spaced relation around the peripheryof'said rotating member.

'ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS1,186,481 Kaye June 6, 1916 2,152,339 Anderson Mar. 28, 19?:9v 2,603,927Grey July 22, 1952 2,904,945 Kerr Sept. 22, 1959

